Cold December
by Dellcat
Summary: Y/N is a new detective to the Manhattan SVU. She is young and cunning, but extremely intelligent. When one of the biggest cases lands on Lieutenant Olivia Benson's desk, she must navigate the minefield of a dangerous serial rapist and murderer, professionally jealous coworkers, and a budding romance with a certain ADA. Reader Insert (Y/N) story Reader x Barba
1. Chapter 1: Welcome to SVU

_A/N: This is a Y/N insert story for Law and Order: Special Victims Unit (because I'm OBSESSED). The main crime is based around a character similar to William Lewis. Bear with me I go into graphic detail about the investigations because I too am interested in investigation. ENJOY!_

 _Summary: Y/N is a new detective to the Manhattan SVU. She is young and cunning, but extremely intelligent. When one of the biggest cases lands on Lieutenant Olivia Benson's desk, she must navigate the minefield of a dangerous serial rapist and murderer, professionally jealous coworkers, and a budding romance with a certain ADA._

Y/N never thought she'd be a cop. Her entire family had been in the military for some period of time, and though she never dreamed of joining the military. She swore she would never join the military because of the stress it caused her family that she so desperately wanted away from. She spent her first year of college majoring in the farthest subject she could think of; theatre. It had interested her throughout high school, so she gave it a shot. But as she progressed through the first semester, she felt unfulfilled.

She tried to push those feelings away, but finally came to a conclusion; she needed to serve. She needed to make a difference. She need to _help people_. She decided it was in her blood, so she changed her major to criminal justice and graduated early with her bachelor's degree with honors at the age of 21. She moved to New York City and joined the police academy. Her training went quick, and her superiors saw great potential in her. She was physically very strong, able to take on her toughest opponents, but also incredibly cunning, able to outwit the smartest of her peers _and_ superiors. With looks that could kill and a feminine quality that could be used to their advantage, she had made Detective in her third year out. She worked with the Bronx SVU for a year before a disagreement with her very strict Captain had her transferred.

That brought her here, twenty-seven years old, standing outside the NYPD Manhattan SVU in the December snow with an evidence box full of her desk items. Taking in a deep breath, she dragged up the courage to enter the building. She stepped into the elevator, pressing the button for her floor when a voice called out.

"Hold the elevator, please!"

She pressed her elbow firmly against the door, stopping its movement. A tall man with coiffed chestnut hair stepped in.

"Hey, thanks," he huffed, taking a sip of the steaming coffee in his hand.

"No problem," Y/N replied with a small smile.

"You new here?" he asked, eyeing the evidence box in her hands.

"Yes, I'm Y/N. Y/N Y/L/N," replied, moving the box into one arm so you could shake his hand.

The elevator doors dinged open, and you followed him into the bullpen.

"Ah, the Detective from the Bronx. I'm Detective Carisi," he said, leading Y/N over to the desks that had other Detectives sitting at them. "You can call me Sonny. Everyone does."

"No one calls you that," a blond Detective writing on a legal pad said, rolling her eyes.

"Some people do," Carisi said huffingly.

"No one calls you that," an older black man said. "You must be the new Detective. Y/N, right?"

"Yep, that's me!" she said cheerily.

"Cool. You can set your stuff right here," he leaned across his own desk to pat the top of the empty one against it. "This'll be your place. I'm Fin. That's Amanda," the blond waved, "and you met Carisi. Liv, our Lietunant, is in there," he pointed to the door. "You should go let her know you're here."

Y/N set the evidence box down on the desk and removed her grey scarf, jacket, and gloves. She smoothed the nonexistent creases from her burgundy blouse before walking over to the Lieutenant's slightly opened door and knocking.

"Come on in!" a woman's voice called.

Y/N walked in to see a middle aged woman with olive skin and brown eyes behind a computer. She had on thick brimmed glasses and her hair fell in loose curls. She was very pretty for a cop.

"Hi," Y/N said, stepping further into the room. "I'm your new Detective, Y/N."

"Ah yes, have a seat. You're early," she stated, removing her reading glasses and glancing at the clock that read 7:00 AM.

"I tend to be early," she said. "I don't like being late…" she glanced down at her hands for a moment, as if remembering something, before shaking the thought away and smiling again. "I hope that's okay."

"No, no, it's fine. I'm Olivia. I'm the Lieutenant in charge of Manhattan SVU. The quick run down of the place is this; I like a free exchange of ideas. That being said, I'm also usually right," she smirked and Y/N chuckled. "Let's talk about why you were transferred here."

Y/N tensed, recalling the case that led to her transfer.

"I got into a… disagreement for lack of a better word, with my Captain back in the Bronx… We were working a case, we'd located a bunch of big-spender Johns who were hosting a party, and they were getting girls from a big-time pimp that they'd been after for years, since before I'd even graduated… He wanted to raid before things even got started. I told him if we did that, they'd be expecting us. That we needed to wait for an hour or two for them to get drunk and comfortable. We'd tried to raid two months earlier and we went in too early. They were ready and they scattered. He shot me down immediately. He never really liked me. We disagreed a lot. I'm too 'pig headed and hot tempered,'" Y/N placed air quotes around the phrase. "Anyway, we went along with his plan, and I was right. They were waiting for us. And they ran. The Johns got away without being ID'd and the pimps got the girls. It was the same as last time. The squad was scolded for not learning from our past mistakes, and I got upset and shot back that he was the one who hadn't learned anything. Next thing I knew I was being transferred."

"Well, like I said, I like a free exchange of ideas. I've been warned by your Captain about your impulses," the young Detective shied under comment. "I'm going to ask that you run everything by me before executing, but I like a good Detective who follows a good instinct."

Y/N let out a slight sigh of relief and smiled at the Lieutenant. She opened her mouth to continue to conversation when the door opened. Y/N turned around in her seat to face a man with tired eyes wearing a three piece suit and a blue and red striped tie. He had short hair that was a little dissolved, as if he was running his hands through his hair. He carried a briefcase.

"Liv I have-" his eyes landed on Y/N and narrowed. "Who's this?"

"This is our new Detective, Y/N Y/L/N. Y/L/N, this is ADA Rafael Barba."

The Detective's eyes widened and she stood, extending her hand to shake his. He ignored her, raking his eyes up and down, analyzing her. He stepped to the Lieutenant's desk and handed her a file, setting his briefcase on the desk.

"I went over those files for the Korosky case. There's not enough evidence. The DA won't touch this unless you can bring me more, or drop the rape-murder charges."

"Barba we've got everything we possibly could," Olivia sighed, rubbing her eyes. "He's good for this."

"Well you must have missed something. Go through it all again, with the finest toothed comb. Maybe give it to Nancy Drew over there," he said, jerking his head towards Y/N. " Fresh eyes."

"Y/N?" Olivia asked.

"Absolutely. I'm on it," she replied, knowing this was her opportunity to prove she deserved to be there.

"Good. I'll have the files from my office transferred. She'll get all evidence, all witness statements, _everything_ ," the ADA turned towards the new Detective. "We need something. Some connection. You'll understand when you get the files."

Barba stood, walking out of the office.

"What's this case about exactly?" Y/N asked.

"We've got a serial rapist that we know is guilty of five rape-murders. There is one witness who he tried to attack, but she was trained in martial arts and escaped. Reported it to the police. There's DNA evidence from her attack, but the techs can't find any DNA from the rape cases, and he supposedly has an alibi for the nights of the attacks. We know he did it, we're just missing the DNA.

"Can I have access to the physical evidence?" Y/N asked.

"Whatever you need," the Lieutenant agreed.

As the Detective turned to leave the office, Olivia spoke one more time.

"Welcome to SVU."


	2. Chapter 2: The Korosky Investigation

_A/N: Hey guys! Hope you liked the first chapter! Here's another instillation. As you may guess from my writing style, this is going to be a length fic. Thanks for sticking with me!_

"Hey Kid," Fin said as Y/N sat down at her desk and picked up the previously discarded coffee cup. "I saw Barba go in. You meet him?"

"Yeah. He has me going through the Korosky case."

"Good luck with that. We've tried everything, but have no idea how to pin the guy."

"Well, that's what I'm here for. A fresh set of eyes," she said as three heavy boxes slammed down on her desk, startling her.

"Jesus Carisi," she chuckled.

"One box of physical evidence and two boxes of files. Enjoy!" he teased.

She pulled out a pair of black brimmed reading glasses, stood to open the top box, and pulled out the first file. She tied back her Y/H/C hair, small bits falling to hang in her face, and set to work on the case.

Five hours and just as many cups of coffee later, Y/N removed her glasses and rubbed her tired eyes. There was a neat stack of files next to her, statements and clues meticulously highlighted.

"Why? Why why why why WHY?" she groaned and Fin chuckled.

"Told ya. It's an impossible case. It's so sad…"

"No. It's not impossible," the eager Detective stood and reached into the box of evidence, pulling out the bag of clothes worn by the earliest two victims. "If there's anything to find in the physical evidence it's going to be in the earliest cases. We know he got cleaner and cleaner as time went on. If he messed up, it's in here."

"Gee, why didn't we think of that?" Rollins said from her desk, rolling her eyes. "You're not going to find anything. Barba and the DA aren't going to take the case. They're pulling your chain. It's impossible."

Y/N shot a quick glare at the blond before shoving her glasses back onto her nose again and heading down to the lab with the bag. She gave it off to a lab tech and stood over his shoulder, watching his every move. He combed through everything for three hours, searching for fibers, fingerprints, anything.

"Sorry Detective," he huffed, clearly irritated at his wasted time. "Nothing here."

"Can we run a black light over it?"

"We don't run black lights on clothes. The chemicals used in various detergents or treatments and materials throw off the results."

"Please," she pleaded. "We need to try."

The tech sighed again before grabbing the black light and killing the lights in the room. He ran the lights over the various articles of clothing. One bag of them lit up light a Christmas tree, the various colors and chemicals reacting vibrantly to the light. The tech shot her an 'I-told-you-so' look before moving on to the next bag. It didn't have nearly as violent a reaction.

"She must've used organic products," the tech hummed, and Y/N recalled a detail from the statement of one of the victim's siblings, who said she was a big proponent of vegan and non-GMO products.

They combed through the clothes, coming to a tattered and dirty red scarf that had a bright spot jump out. It was small, but big enough to test.

"Can we run this?" Y/N said, worrying her lip and running her hands through her hair that now fell around her shoulders in light waves.

"I'll need a couple hours, but I'll give you a call when it's ready."

"Thank you," she said, sweeping out of the lab and back to the bullpen.

She sat back at the table, going through the files again.

 _The first rape-murder was committed in December of 2004, the second in February of 2005, there was a break, and the third didn't occur until February of 2007. The fourth was in December of 2007, and the fifth was January of 2008. Now, there was the attempt in December of 2008._

 _The Suspect moved from Manhattan to Green Bay, Wisconsin during those two years on a transfer for work, but there were no similar rape-murders in the area._

Y/N pulled up a laptop and found that there had indeed not been any kind of murder in the area or in the surrounding cities. She bit her lip and sat back.

"No murders anywhere near Green Bay…" she murmured, trying to think through her thoughts.

"We checked on that," Rollins huffed, clearly unimpressed with the young Detective's progress on the case.

"Let the girl work, Rollins," Carisi chided.

The blond huffed and went back to her work. Y/N looked into the cities farther away, and found three similar rape-murders in Chicago. She picked up the phone and called the Chicago PD.

 _"_ _Commander Voight, Chicago PD."_

"Hi, this is Detective Y/N Y/L/N, Manhattan SVU. I'm combing through a case our DA wants to throw away and I was wondering if you could fax me some files on three rape-murders taking place between 2005 and 2007."

 _"_ _Let me give a call to your Lieutenant."_

"Thank you. I appreciate it."

She hung up the phone and looked to see Finn leaning back with his eyes half closed and a small smile on his face.

"What?"

"What're you up to Kid?"

"There are three rape-murders that happened in Chicago with the same M.O. as Korosky's."

"Voight gave us a call when those cases cropped up," Fin said. "Korosky had an alibi. He was clocked into work all three days at the time of the girls' murders. We never picked up his license plate or his picture on any of the roads into Chicago."

"But look at this," Y/N said. She had been tapping away on her computer while the older Detective had been talking. "Three female employees were fired from that company's location for falsifying the records of how often people were working. Clocking out for them late so they'd get over time, clocking in if they were late."

"How'd you get into those records?" Rollins said. "We tried, the company refused to cooperate."

"I have my ways," Y/N smirked at the blond's stunned expression. "I have some old friends who owed me a favor or two. I also found these pictures on the company's website. Korosky was pretty cozy with the three girls that were fired."

"So you think he got friendly with these girls and they covered for him. That would explain how he was in two places at once, but how do you explain how he never got caught on camera?" Fin asked.

She bit her lip before grabbing the phone and dialing in a number.

 _"_ _Maria Gonzalez."_

"Hi this is Detective Y/N Y/L/N with the Manhattan Special Victims Unit. I have a few questions to ask and would like to inform you that his call is being recorded for further use."

 _"_ _Oh… Okay…How can I help you?"_

"Did you use to work for the Goldstein Company?"

 _"_ _Yes,"_ the woman became bitter.

"Did you work with a Mr. Stephen Korosky?"

 _"_ _Yes. The guy was cute, but a terrible worker. Always late or leaving early, and asking Sally and Heather to cover for him. I got fired because of him. They roped me into helping."_

"Did he ever tell you where he went when he would leave?"

 _"_ _No he didn't. There were only a couple times I ever covered for him. It was mostly Sally and Heather. He charmed the pants off of them. Not me. He made me uncomfortable. He was lusty and seemed sex crazed to me. Narcissistic too. You know, the cocky guys who think they're God's greatest gift to women? Anyway, there were two or three time when the three of them would leave early and take a little road trip for the night. I'd punch them out later and when they were late the next morning I would make it look like they were on time. I did it more for the girls than him."_

"Did they tell you where they were taking the road trip?"

 _"_ _Heather mentioned Chicago?"_

"Can you tell me who would drive them?"

 _"_ _Heather. She has a big SUV. It handled the drive the best. She complained because they would leave but by the time they got into the city Stephen would be passed out laying across the back seat."_

"Great. This is great. Thank you so much for your help."

 _"_ _My pleasure. Let me know if you need anything else."_

The Detective hung up and a huge smile cracked across her face. She filed the tape and printed out the files for the punch in sheets, highlighting the three nights they were in Chicago, and found the records from the parking garage in the area to get Heather's license plate number. She stuck all these in a legal folder just as the phone rang.

"Y/L/N," she answered.

"Detective, this is the lab. We have your results. I'm faxing them to you now."

She jumped up to receive the papers and her smile grew when the stain confirmed to be blood from Stephen Korosky. Almost simultaneously the files from Chicago came in. They contained unidentified DNA models that matched Koroky's.

The young detective gathered up her files and stepped into the Lieutenant's office.

"I think I've got him."


	3. Chapter 3: The Korosky Interrogation

_A/N: Here's chapter three! This is an interrogation so there is talk of rape, murder, and rough sex. There rating of this story might change to M later on, and if you feel it should please let me know so I can review it. Thank you! Enjoy!_

Y/N sat at her desk as the Lieutenant and Fin escorted Korosky into an interrogation room in cuffs. Barba followed in. Y/N stood and made her way to peer through the two-way glass to see Korosky sitting at the table looking none too worried.

"Nice work Detective," Barba said.

"Thank you," Y/N said, eyes never leaving the perp.

Fin and Olivia left the interrogation room.

"What's he like?" Y/N asked.

"He doesn't think we've got him. He thinks he's charming and will be able to talk his way out."

"Can I take a run at him?" Y/N said.

She could hear Barba scoff behind her. Olivia looked like she was contemplating and reluctantly agreed, making it very clear she would intervene if need be. Y/N removed her gun and placed it on the table. She also took off her jacket and let her hair down. She made herself look attractive. The observing SVU squad seemed a bit perplexed, and the ADA's eyes trained firmly on her, watching her every move. She picked up her computer and stepped into the room.

She entered the room and sat at the chair across from her. Stephen trained his eyes on her for a moment and smirked. She opened the laptop and kept her focus on the screen, never once looking at Stephen. Y/N sat in silence, the only sound coming from the room the tapping of her fingers on the keyboard. She was typing aimlessly on a word document, occasionally clicking somewhere on the track pad and going back to typing. This went on for a good ten minutes. Barba huffed.

"What is she doing?" he murmured, trying to figure out her strategy. It was then he noticed the change in Stephen. When Olivia and Fin had been in there, he was lounging, oozing charm and confidence. As Y/N sat in the room, typing away on the computer, he had grown tenser. His eyes darkened, his posture straightened, and his air turned to an aggressive anxiety.

Y/N typed for another minute before clicking on the trackpad and closing the computer, moving it towards the edge of the table.

"Sorry, I had some e-mails to reply to," she apologized, brushing her hair to the side and exposing one shoulder. His eyes raked her up and down, devouring her figure.

Behind the glass, the jaw of the ADA clenched. He never wanted to see a man as sick as that guy looking at any woman the way he was, especially not a Detective, and he felt his stomach jolt with an unexpected protectiveness for the Detective.

"No, no. I get it babe. Some things just can't wait," he cooed, pretending he was more comfortable than he was.

"No they could've, but they just seemed a better use of my time right now."

His eyes darkened and his lips curled down at the corners.

"You're accusing me of raping, and murdering, five women, and you think it's more important to respond to e-mails?"

His tone was biting, as if his ego had been bruised, and a fire rose in his eyes.

"Yeah pretty much," she said, picking at her nails and once again looking away from Stephen.

"Then why are we here?"

"Well, my boss thinks your good for these - eight, actually - rapes and murders. And one assault," she explained, carefully training her tone to that of not caring. "But I think she's wrong."

"Yeah? Why's that?"

"You don't have it in you. You look like such a sweet, charming, adorable-" she said as if talking to a baby. "-guy. You're obviously not strong enough or capable of doing something like that."

The suspect fumed. He leaned forward, so close to Y/N that she could feel his hot breath on her face.

"I am a strong, capable man. I'm a real man. I give it to my girls rough, just the way they like it."

"I don't believe you," she leaned forward. "You don't have the guts. You're not man enough to give it to a girl rough, let alone rape and murder her."

"I could do anything to any girl I wanted. Even you, sweetheart," his eyes hungrily raked her body again, twisted thoughts forming.

"Is that why the last girl you attacked got away? I heard she kicked your ass!"

He was beginning to tremble.

"If a girl got away it's only because I wanted her to. I'm a real man. I can do whatever I want to any girl I want to. I can give it to her rough, 'til she can't walk for a week."

Behind the glass, Olivia turned to Barba.

"There, that's enough right? He said she got away because he let her?"

"Not quite…" the man replied, his eyes fixed on the quickly escalating session. "It's good for the assault charge, but we need her to push him a little more. He needs to say he did it. I'm just worried he's going to snap when he does…"

"Really? I can't picture it," Y/N scoffed back, leaning back in her chair.

"You don't need to!" he shouted, standing and slamming his hands down on the table. Y/N stood to counter him. "You don't need to picture it because I did it! I raped those girls, I killed those girls! Manhattan, Chicago, I did it!" he crossed behind the table to stand directly in front of Y/N. "I grabbed those girls in the night, I shoved them into alleys, I pinned them down, just like THIS!"

Barba had been right. He snapped. He grabbed her shoulders and slammed her against the wall. Her head connected with a crack, making her vision swim. The door flew open and Fin and Carisi rushed in to pull him off of her.

"I raped those girls! I listened to them scream they _begged_ me to stop, but I didn't! And then I killed them! And I left them there! And you're next, _sweetheart_ ," he spat as Fin and Carisi dragged him fro, the room. Olivia and Barba rushed to either side of her, each taking an arm to steady her.

"I'm okay… I'm okay… Was it enough? Did we get him?"

Once she was steadied, Olivia smiled.

"We got him. He confessed, mentioning notes of the case that were never released to the press. And he mentioned Chicago. He's going away. Nice work Detective."

"Thank you Lieutenant."

Olivia led Y/N back into the bullpen, Barba following. He watched her, as she was left alone at her desk. Everyone was too busy to notice, but he saw it. She reached for the back of her head, her face scrunching up in pain, and when she pulled her hand away, there was a sheen of red on her fingertips. She quickly grabbed the napkin placed under one of her coffee cups, and wiped it away, disposing of it. She went back to work as if nothing had happened.

"Tough girl…"


	4. Chapter 4: The Coffee Date

_A/N: Hey guys! This is just a quick little chapter. Thanks for reading!_

Korosky pled guilty after his confession. He would be sentenced to life without chance of parole. It was dark when Olivia and Barba came back to the bullpen. Fin, Carisi, and Rollins had already left, leaving the new Detective alone at her desk. She was staring aimlessly at the smooth finish on her desk, her glasses in her hand with the end lightly held between her teeth. She was lost in thought.

"Y/N-" Olivia began, stopping when Y/N didn't respond. "Y/N!" she said a bit louder.

The Detective started, turning around in her seat.

"I'm sorry Lieutenant," she apologized.

"It's alright. It's been a long day, why don't you head home." the older woman said. "You did great work today."

"Thank you Lieutenant, but there's still some things I'd like to finish up if that's alright with you," she responded, her hand going to the back of her head.

To Olivia, the gesture was just a mindless movement. To Barba, it was a nervous stroke of the injury she had sustained during the interrogation.

"Detective," he said. "If you're working late, would you care to join me for a coffee."

She looked perplexed, but he shot a teasing glance and smirk at the two coffee cups on her desk, knowing they were just a couple of the dozen she'd already consumed that day.

"Sure, why not?" she stood, putting her jacket on and tying her scarf around her neck.

She followed the counselor out of the building into the snow. He led her down the block to a small coffee shop tucked into a corner. He opened the door for her as they entered the almost abandoned cafe.

"This is my favorite coffee shop," he explained. "Quick, cheap, good, and the owner is a good friend. He does free double espresso shots for NYPD."

"Sounds like my kind of guy," she chuckled back.

They ordered their coffees before stepping back into the snow. They walked slowly, side by side on the sidewalk.

"How are you?" Barba asked finally after a few minutes of silence.

"Great. I'm glad we were able to put Korosky away."

"I mean your head."

"Fine-"

"Don't lie to me. I'm a lawyer, I can tell. I saw the blood."

She let out a sigh and carefully ran a hand through her hair.

"It's not the worst I've been done over on a case, but it definitely shook me. That's why I'm working late. You know what they say about falling asleep when you're concussed."

"Did you see a doctor?"

"No need. Like I said, it's not the worst I've been through."

He narrowed his eyes, reading her expression.

"Looks like you're more worried about looking weak."

Her head snapped over to the ADA. "It's my first day. I don't want to look like the weak little new girl. Who get's a concussion in an _interrogation_?" she huffed.

"For what it's worth, I definitely don't think you're weak. And I know Liv doesn't either. She's really impressed with you. You pulled together a case we've been working on for months in one day. And you got him to break. It was very impressive. You're very smart."

She looked over at him, and he smiled. She smiled back.

"Thank you, Counselor."


	5. Chapter 5: Lucy Webster

In the following months, following the conversation between the ADA and the new Detective, their friendship had grown strong. He knew her coffee order, and would always stop between his office and the SVU to bring her coffee. They joked around in a way that no one had ever seen the ADA behave.

Y/N had also proven herself to be a worthy, capable member of the SVU. She very quickly earned the trust and friendship of all the members of the SVU, and Olivia saw a little bit of herself in the new member. Y/N was ambitious and driven to make a difference. She had led many successful investigations, and 1PP was very impressed with her performance. She was also working on a law degree with Carisi, both attending night classes at Fordham Law. The two had become the best of friends, more like rowdy siblings.

It was a beautiful May morning that Barba and Y/N were walking to the coffee shop they so frequently attended. When they walked in, the owner, Andrew, had their orders waiting for them, used to their usual appearance.

As they walked out of the building, Y/N's phone rang.

"Y/L/N," she answered.

 _"_ _It's Liv. We've got a situation in Foley Park. Someone called in an unconscious vic. Fin and Rollins are on their way now but I want you there too."_

Her faced dropped and she glanced over at Barba.

"I'm with Barba, down at the coffee shop on Park Row. I can be over in five."

She hung up the phone and headed to her car.

"Sorry, I've gotta run. Duty calls."

"Be safe. See you later," Barba responded.

She grabbed his forearm and squeezed it, smiling at him. It had become a habit whenever they were together if she were called away, he would tell her to be safe. She thought it was kind of cute.

"Always am," she shot back her usual response, getting into her car.

Barba would never admit it out loud, but he had become exceptionally fond of the brilliant Detective, and he felt a twinge of anxiety every time she went off. He knew how dangerous and erratic the job could be. It was the way he had started to feel about Olivia, one of his best friends. He stood on the sidewalk for another moment, watching her drive away.

"Please be safe…"

Y/N pulled up in the car, quickly hopping out. She flashed her badge as she approached the crime scene. She was so early that they hadn't even finished roping it off yet. She felt appalled at the amount of people standing around taking videos and pictures on their smart phones.

"NYPD!" she called, flashing her badge to the surrounding spectators. "I'm going to ask you all to please step back. Thank you!"

She made her way over to the now awake victim. She turned to the responding officers.

"What have you got?"

"You got here fast…" one of the officers huffed. "Twenty-three year old woman, brown hair, blue eyes, found by some lady walking her dog. She said the vic was unconscious, behind these bushes, with her underwear down around her ankles. Likely sexual assault, the bus is on its way to transfer her to Bellevue Hospital."

She knelt down by the girl, draping her blazer over her trembling frame.

"Hi," she said quietly. "My name is Y/N Y/L/N. I'm a Detective with SVU. There's an ambulance on the way so we can take you to the hospital. Is that okay?"

"Y-Yes… Please…" the woman said.

"Can you tell me your name?"

"Lucy… Lucy Webster."

"Okay that's good Lucy," she turned to see the ambulance pulling up and Fin and Rollins arriving. "Lucy, the ambulance is here. One of the Detectives can go with you if you want us to or we can leave you alone, but my Lieutenant will want to ask you some questions at the hospital."

"Can you come with me?" she asked quietly, throwing a nervous glance to the other officers.

"Of course," Y/N replied. "The paramedics are going to load you up into the ambulance. I'm going to talk to my partners and then I'll be in to go with you okay?"

The woman nodded, and Y/N stood to talk to Fin and Rollins.

"I'm going to go with her to the hospital. She's being transferred to Bellevue. Can you give the Lieutenant a call and let her know to meet us there?"

"I got you, Kid," Fin said, pulling out his phone.

The paramedics had loaded Lucy into the bus and Y/N jumped in while the paramedics shut the doors and rushed her to the hospital.

"Lucy, can you tell me what happened?" she asked, keeping her voice calm.

"I… I was walking through the park… I just left a party with my friends… They went back to their apartment and I tried to take a shortcut through the park."

"Do you know what time this was?"

"12:30? Maybe 1:00? Suddenly, some guy grabbed me from behind the bushes. He held me down. He was so tall, and he was heavy. He… He forced me to…" Lucy broke down into tears.

"Lucy… Lucy, did he rape you?"

She just nodded and sobbed.

"Detective, that's enough for right now," one of the paramedics said, and Y/N sat down, waiting for them to arrive at the hospital.

Olivia walked into the hallway and was met with Y/N pacing.

"How's she doing?" the Lieutenant asked.

"Paramedics say she'll be okay. She has bruising on her face, legs, torso, and wrists, and bite marks on her breasts and thighs. They're doing a rape kit now."

"Did she say anything?"

"She went into hysterics before I could get the physical description, but she told me what happened," the Detective recounted the event to her superior.

A nurse stepped out and bid the two cops into the hallway.

"There's vaginal tearing and bleeding consistent with a forceable sexual assault," the nurse said, reading from a clipboard. "She's ready to talk to you two. She's specifically asking for Detective Y/L/N."

Olivia led her into the victim's room.

"Hey there Lucy," Y/N said, smiling at the woman. "How're you feeling?"

"All things considered? I'm sore, everything hurts, but they gave me some medication."

"Lucy, I'm Lieutenant Benson from the Special Victims Unit. I'd like to speak with you about what happened last night."

"I already told her what happened," Lucy stated, raising a finger to point at Y/N.

"I know, but we'd like to know anything else you may be able to remember. Do you know what he looked like?" the Lieutenant pulled out a notebook.

"He… He was tall. Maybe six foot? Six foot one? And heavy. He pinned me down. But he was heavy muscular not heavy fat."

"Did you get a good look at his face?"

"Not really… It was dark…"

"Did you notice anything about his smell, his voice… Did he say anything to you?"

"He kept saying stuff like, 'she thinks she's so smart,' and 'this'll show them," Lucy said nervously.

"Thank you Lucy," the Lieutenant said, standing. "If you remember anything else, please give me a call," she handed the woman a business card.

The two SVU officers left the room. The Lieutenant noted that her Detective was exceptionally quiet.

"What's on your mind?" she asked.

"Just… What the perp said. 'She thinks she's so smart…' Whoever this guy is, he has to be getting revenge on someone, or trying to prove a point to someone. But what would raping someone have to do with undermining someone else's intelligence?"

"It could be any number of things. Lucy's girlfriends could have told her some guy wasn't good enough. He could be dealing with some pent up aggressions or insecurities. Who knows what makes these guys tick."

"I've got a bad feeling about this…"

The Lieutenant watched the Detective closely as she bit her thumb nail, a tell she learned meant the Detective was thinking. Hard.


	6. Chapter 6: Watch the Hair, Juliet

Barba walked into the SVU, as Olivia had called him, to see Y/N slam a pile of files on her desk with an exasperated sigh. He took in her appearance. She always looked tired to him, bags under her eyes only partially concealed by makeup, but God was she beautiful.

"No witnesses, no DNA, no physical ID, and no recent attacks. Where did this guy go?!" the Detective sat down with a huff.

"You can't get them all, _Detective_ ," Barba said, setting down the scheduled coffee on her desk with a smirk.

"I refuse to think like that, _Counselor_ ," she said, swigging down the caffeine she depended upon and hiding a smile that matched the ADA's.

Fin and Rollins exchanged glances at the two's behavior.

"Where's Liv?" Barba asked.

"She got called to I.A.B.. They needed some kind of reference on a cop from the fifty-fifth. She should be back soon," Fin said.

The ADA rolled his eyes and busied himself examining the bullpen. Things were slow, leaving the cops aimlessly filing reports and tying up loose ends. Y/N, always the overachiever, had finished her busy work and had set herself buried in one of her law books. Barba felt a small smile come across his face as he observed her. Her wavy hair was twisted back into a loose french twist, her eyes trained on the words through her reading glasses, her right hand scribbling notes on paper with her left thumbnail clasped between her teeth. She was adorable.

He shook himself of the thought. She was at least ten years his junior, what was he thinking? Not to mention a relationship would be complicated considering their careers.

 _Wait,_ ** _relationship_** _?_

Luckily, his rambling thoughts were interrupted by the entrance of Olivia. She led the ADA into her office. As soon as the door closed, Fin let out a chuckle and Carisi sat on Y/N's desk, disrupting her studies.

"Can I help you two?" she asked, narrowing her eyes.

"No nothing, _Detective_ ," Carisi said, emphasizing the word the way Barba did.

"You never cease to amaze me, Kid," Fin said. "The friendliest I've ever seen Barba is with Liv, and that took years to establish. Now here you are after six months and you've got him wrapped around your little finger."

"What are you talking about?"

"C'mon, he brings you coffee at least three times a day. And I've seen him look at you. Like you're the most beautiful, fascinating girl he's ever seen." Carisi said, batting his eyelashes and sighing dramatically.

Y/N shoved him off the desk, sending the older Detective toppling to the floor.

"There isn't a single person on this planet who ever has or ever will look at me like that, let alone the ADA. So you can stay down there and think about what you've done." she hissed, leaving the men taken aback by the what can only be described as loathing tone.

She went back to studying her textbook and Carisi stayed on the floor while Fin laughed at him.

"I hope you all have your paperwork done," Olivia's voice rang out.

Carisi scrambled back up off the floor to his desk, and a small smirk crept across Y/N's face. She only looked up when she felt a shadow fall across her text book.

"Law school?" Barba. "I never pinned you for the lawyer type."

"Neither did I. But I thought it might be useful. And besides, I enjoy it."

He huffed a little chuckle, before squeezing her shoulder.

"I'll see you tomorrow."

The ADA left and Y/N looked back to Carisi, who wiggled his eyebrows at her. She crumpled up a piece of paper and heaved it at his head.

"Hey watch the hair, Juliet," he taunted.

"Bite me, Carisi," she hissed.

Y/N leaned back in her seat, her mind wandering back to the ADA. She had to admit, she was drawn in by his intelligence and biting wit, not to mention his dashing good looks. He was sweet, and they got along swimmingly. They got coffee together every morning as if routine, and sometimes they even ran in the park together. Everyone said she had gained his attention in a new way they hadn't seen before. But how could a distinguished ADA possibly consider dating a cop who couldn't match any of his positive attributes?

 _Wait,_ ** _date_** _?_


	7. Chapter 7: Thank You, Rafael

Two weeks passed with four more rapes that matched Lucy's case, but no more evidence was being collected, and the pile of open case files was slowly growing on the Detective's desk. She had scoured every bit of evidence and had come up with nothing. Between these cases, the other daily arrests she was making, and the constant classes and studying, the Detective hadn't slept properly in two months.

Barba constantly caught her in the dark, cold bullpen hours after even Olivia had left. The Lieutenant had stopped trying to convince the girl to leave with the rest of them, knowing it was a fruitless effort. The ADA would make a nightly excuse to stop by with a cup of piping coffee and would speak with the girl about whatever was troubling her. He had found he was able to get her to open up after the long days.

Finally, one night after a particularly rough day involving a child who they found dead, locked in a dog cage, the ADA found her at her desk, staring blankly at the wall. Her eyes were red as if she had been crying but had long since run out of tears. Her hair was disheveled and the bags under her eyes were more prominent than ever. He worried.

"Y/N?" he asked quietly so as not to startle her, setting a cup of coffee down on the desk. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, yeah," she covered, reaching for a file. "I was just taking a break from my work."

The ADA watched her read the file, but knew she was faking. He had memorized the way her eyes locked onto a file when she was investigating, but now she was just staring emptily at a page. He grasped her shoulder, forcing her to look up.

"Why don't you come work in my office then? It's warmer, and there's a comfy couch and a coffee machine there with your name on them," he offered. He didn't want her alone all night. He knew the state of mind she was in, having seen many an officer in it before. He couldn't stand the idea of her going through that alone, no matter how capable she was.

She smiled at him softly, before complying and standing, taking an armful of case files and two textbooks with her. She slung her coat over her arm, and followed the lawyer from the precinct. They spent the walk back to his office in silence, Barba constantly throwing nervous glancing at the Detective. They often spent walks in silence, enjoying each other's company, but the air about her was so different, so… heavy.

He led her into her office, offering only a brief introduction to Carmen, his secretary. On any other day he knew they would get along, chatting away, but luckily the woman sitting outside his office understood the mood of the woman and said nothing.

"I'll be working on some files, you can sit there and work if you'd like," he gestured to the plush couch.

She sat down, taking in the room. It was so Barba, cluttered but an organized chaos. A coffee pot left constantly brewing, surrounded by various snack foods. She felt at home here. She put her feet up on the couch and leaned back, opening another case file. The pair sat in silence, working for ten minutes before Y/N broke the silence.

"Thank you…" she murmured, and the ADA looked up from his work, perplexed.

"What for?"

"For not leaving me alone tonight… I know you prefer to work on your own. Carisi has told me that before. I know you'd rather me not be here so you could work. I'm sorry that I'm bothering you. But thank you."

"Y/N…" the ADA said quietly. "I'm more than happy to have you here. Whenever you would like. Forget Carisi. I enjoy your company, more than anyone's. And I know how tough this can be. I'm prosecuting the case. I've seen the pictures, I've read the statements. I understand. And I'm always here to help you deal with it if you need me to be."

"Thank you…" she whispered again, her throat constricting.

The pair went back to work, the air much lighter.

An hour later Barba looked up, having heard nothing from his companion in a while, to find her asleep. There were files open and spread all over her legs, one clutched to her chest. Her head was resting against the back of the couch, a hand hanging to the side, reaching for a forgotten coffee cup. He smiled, and felt his heart swell. He knew she needed the sleep, and really didn't want to wake her, but he knew it was time they left the office.

He packed his belongings quietly, and took the liberty of packing her files into her bag. He then knelt near her head, gently touching her hand.

"Y/N… Cariño… It's time to wake up… Let me take you home."

He couldn't help but smile as she blinked open her tired eyes. He helped her up, handing her her things, before leading her to his car. He drove her home, parking outside her apartment building.

"Thank you Rafael," she said smiling. "For everything."

She planted a quick kiss on his cheek before hopping out of his car and walking to the door. He stayed to make sure she made it inside okay, and as he drove to his own apartment, he couldn't help the smile that split his face.


	8. Chapter 8: He's Escalating

_A/N: Whew! Sorry guys I uploaded this chapter and it was all coding! Whoops! Also sorry that the frequency of chapters is going to be a bit slower. I just got back to school and I'm trying to maintain a 4.0 GPA so that is my priority. I'll try to not this one die like some of my other fics. Thanks for reading!_

The next morning saw Y/N at yet another crime scene, matching that of their unidentified rapist, only this time, the victim was murdered and left with a note.

"He's escalating," Y/N said, scrubbing a hand down her face.

She had grasped the case in her teeth, now taking the lead of investigation with her Lieutenant guiding her, a decision 1PP wasn't so sure about. However, it turned out to be the right instinct, as they found the note on the body addressed to Y/N.

 _Y/N-_

 _You thought you'd look so impressive after your first six months in Manhattan. Putting away Korosky, exposing negligence in social services, putting away big cases. But look at you now, not smart enough to catch me._

 _Who's the smart one now? Good luck catching me. You're going to need it._

"She thinks she's so smart," Y/N felt her heart clench.

"Y/N?" Olivia said, placing a hand on the Detective's shoulder.

"Whoever is doing this is doing it prove that he's smarter than me… This is my fault."

"Stop right there," the Lieutenant cut her off. "This is not your fault. It's the bastard who's behind this who's at fault. You can't think like that, it will cloud your thinking. Right now, we have a murderer to catch. Is there anyone you know, who has mentioned trying to beat you professionally?"

"It'd be faster to tell you who hasn't."

"Okay. It's okay. Let's just get the evidence back to the precinct and the body back to Melinda."

Y/N nodded, and they cleaned up the crime scene.

Back at the precinct, Y/N had started putting together a white board with pictures pinned to it. She had also pinned up a map with push pins in the location of the now six crime scenes.

"Where are you hiding, you bastard?"

"Easy Y/N," Fin said. "Come on, you and I are taking a trip to see Dr. Warner."

The younger Detective followed her colleague and climbed into the passenger seat of his car.

"So, Clarice, what do you make of it?" she chuckled at the older Detective's nickname for her, a reference to the intelligent FBI profiler in The Silence of the Lambs.

"Someone is trying to prove they can outsmart me," she said, the frustration and guilt seeping into her voice. "And he's escalating. He's already killed one. He's going to start killing more."

"Hey. We're going to catch him. He's got to slip up eventually."

"He's trying to prove he's smart. He's going to be meticulous."

"At some point, he's going to follow an impulse. And that's when he's going to slip up," Fin threw a glance out of the corner of his eye to his younger partner. "You can't blame yourself for this. Just because you're smart as hell doesn't give some psychotic jealous bastard the right to rape and kill girls. It's time you prove him wrong. Prove no one can outsmart you. Because I honestly don't think anyone can."

"Thanks Fin."


	9. Chapter 9: A Lead

In the following week, Y/N had begun working harder than ever before, a feat no one thought possible. And finally, the work and patience paid off. Not in a way anyone thought it would, but by some divine intervention, they got a lead.

Y/N was jogging through Central Park with Barba like they often did. It was early, the sun barely rising. They stopped to catch their breaths and stretch out their sore muscles.

"Hey Raf, can I ask you something?" she questioned.

"Of course. Anything, querido," he responded.

She smirked, and opened her mouth to address him about the nicknames he had started calling her. She didn't think he knew she knew enough Spanish to understand.

That was when she saw him. A tall muscular man with a strong jaw. He was staring behind a pair of sunglasses, which were out of place for the relative darkness of the scene. She saw him smirk, and lean casually against a wall.

"Raf," she whispered, pretending they were still just stretching. "Don't look around, but there's a man to my three, tall, muscular, wearing sunglasses."

The ADA grabbed his arm and turned to face the man, acting like he was just cracking his back.

"I see him."

"I think he's been following us."

"You think he's your guy?"

"Yeah… I'll bet he's gotten bored playing the game from afar. I'm going to try and draw him out. Can you call Liv?"

"Yeah," the ADA agreed, anxiety rising in his gut. He had an awful feeling, but he knew there was no use fighting her right now. "Be safe."

"Always am," she smiled. "Well, I guess I'll meet you for coffee later?" she said louder, making an obvious exit.

"See you later."

The ADA pretended his phone had rung, saying his own name as if answering while he dialed Liv's number. His eyes never left Y/N as she jogged through an empty underpass and felt ice build in his stomach as the man followed her. When he was sure he wouldn't be seen, Barba decided to follow.

"Liv, Y/N has a lead. She's drawing the guy away, but I'm worried. She's on her own, but I'm following now. We're in Central Park, under the overpass. Please get here, fast."

 _"_ _We're on our way. See if you can get Y/N to keep him moving for five minutes."_

The ADA had no doubt that the Detective could hold her own, but despite her strong 5'9" frame, that man was even bigger.

"Dammit…" he cursed, coming around a corner and having lost sight of Y/N.

He tried to keep his head calm and critical so he could find her, but the longer she was out of his sight, the more anxious he became. He followed the path, stopping only to listen. Footsteps behind him. He turned to see Liv and Fin wearing their vests.

"Hey, let's go get her. Stay back," Olivia said, tapping her vest.

He nodded and they kept following down the trail. Finally, they heard some movement in the brush. They stopped, listening to find the direction when a woman's shriek alerted them. The team moved in quickly and finally saw her.

There was a woman on the ground. She looked like she had been passing by and unfortunately ran into the conflict. She was staring up with wide eyes at Y/N, who was leaning against a tree, breathing heavily. There was a deep cut on her forehead, dripping blood down her brow, as well as a dark bruise forming on her cheek and a cut in her lip. She was clutching her side tightly with one arm, the other curling across her chest to hold her shoulder.

"Y/N!" Barba called, rushing over to the Detective.

Olivia and Fin were looking around but there was no sight of the man. Fin came over to the Detective while Olivia talked to the witness.

"Y/N, querido, are you okay?" Barba asked, his eyes scanning her over for injuries.

"I'm fine," she said, and her temperament grew angry. She pushed past the two men, but stumbled, and Barba caught her by the arm. "I said I'm fine!" she ripped her arm away and stormed away.

"Don't take it personally, man," Fin said, putting a hand on the ADA's shoulder. "She's just upset he got away."

"I'm gonna try and talk to her. Liv!" the Lieutenant turned to him. "Want to come with me?"

"Yeah, I need to hear what happened."

The two walked to where Y/N had sat on a bench, hunched over with her elbows on her knees and her head in her hands.

"Y/N?" Barba said quietly, sitting down next to her. "Cariño…"

"He got away," was her simple response as she straightened up. "That's all there is to it."

"What happened?" the ADA questioned softly, grabbing her hand and rubbing his thumb over her knuckles.

"After I left you to call Liv, he started following me. I was leading him down that trail, but he peeled off somewhere behind me. He went around, caught me from the front. He punched me in the stomach a couple times, then in the face, and hit me over the head, with a rock I think. I got a couple good hits in to his face, but he got a hold of me, twisted my arm behind my back and had an arm around my throat. I scratched him. I tried to get some DNA under my nails. He started whispering in my ear," she shuddered at the thought, still feeling his hot breath on her neck. "He said, 'Who's the smart one now? You've got me right here, and you still can't catch me.' That's when that jogger came around. She saw him holding me, shouted, and it made him turn his head. I head butted him, he let me go, but he ran off before I could take him down."

"It's okay, Y/N. Did you get a good look at his face?" Olivia asked.

"Yeah. He was tall, like the other girls said. And really strong. Brown shaggy hair, big lips. It looked like there was a tattoo peaking out of his collar. A star," her eyes were squeezed shut, trying to recall every little detail. "Strong jaw, stubble. His eyes… Cold. Really pale green."

"Good, good. I'm going to get this description to the sketch artist," the Lieutenant took in her Detective. "Y/N, you did great. You did what you had to-"

"With all due respect, Lieutenant, please don't speak to me like one of our victims. If you'll excuse me, I have to get back to work."

"No, you don't. You're going to the hospital to get your injuries checked out. I don't want to see you back until you have a clean bill of health."

"Lieutenant-"

"At least go get that DNA out from under your fingernails."


End file.
